Hyundai: New Cars 2012

Hyundai Australia enjoyed a sensational year of sales in 2011. Helped by a strong product offering and supply constraints of japanese manufacturers, the Korean giant has solidified its position in the Australian market as the “it” brand. 2012 will see Hyundai launch three or four new products, including an all new i30.

Veloster – sports car / February

The first to arrive will be the sporty Hyundai Veloster which CarAdvice drove in Korea a few months ago. Offering one door on the driver’s side and two doors on the passenger side, the Veloster takes some styling ideas from the Mini Cooper clubman, but will be on sale for significantly less.

Hyundai expects to use Veloster as an halo car to attract younger buyers into the brand, offering sporty looks, heaps of featured and a unique offering.

i30 – small car – mid 2012

After its debut at the Frankfurt motorshow last year, the new Hyundai i30 is set to take on the small car segment with more ferocity than ever before. With the current model having won numerous awards, the i30 nameplate has established itself as a worthy contender in the segment. Nonetheless, with an increasing number of new competitors taking more and more marketshare, Hyundai is expecting big things from the new model.

Prices are expected to remain similar to the current model but no doubt we will see more features packed in. We suspect features such as satellite navigation will become become standard on a few variants.

Veloster Turbo – late 2012 – high output sports car

If the naturally aspirated Veloster doesn’t do it for you, then the turbo variant, confirmed for australia, is sure to get a better reception when it arrives towards the end of 2012 (or early 2013).

Hyundai will unleash its new Gamma 1.6 T-GDI power-plant which boasts 152kW of power and 265Nm of torque for turbo fans. The standard Veloster will be powered by a 103kW/167Nm 1.6-litre petrol engine.

Santa Fe & i20 – possibly late in 2012

Given the current Santa Fe and i20 are heading towards the end of their model life (with the i20 having been out in Europe long before it came to Australia), Hyundai may potentially release all-new models toward the end of the year. More on this throughout the year.